Parents and pet owners on Bowen Island were breathing easier Thursday after learning the wolf-dog hybrid that stalked the island for months, feeding on dozens of pets and wild animals, had been killed.

The animal, believed to be half timber wolf, is blamed for the deaths of dogs, cats, sheep, deer, a pony and a swan. Local residents of the sleepy island told CTV News they were afraid to let small children out of their sight.

Bowen municipal authorities first commissioned a two-man team to capture the animal, but eventually turned to Maple Ridge trapper Allan Starkey – better known as "Trapper Al."

The 72-year-old, who has been trapping for about 60 years, headed to the island Wednesday night. Within a few hours, the wolf-dog was dead. On Thursday morning, grateful residents surrounded Starkey's truck.

"They were pretty happy people there," Starkey said. "They were scared to let their kids out or even walk dogs on a leash because that thing just comes out of the bush and grabs things."

The animal, a female weighing 95 pounds, was baited with deer meat and beaver scent. When it got close enough, Starkey shot it in the head. The trapper said it was an instant kill, and the wolf-dog did not suffer.

Residents told CTV News the animal had gained weight, and become more brazen in recent months – wandering closer to homes and staring unafraid at humans who crossed its path.

"I think within another month or two that wolf would've got a couple kids," Starkey said.

The trapper says this is the first wolf he's been hired to kill on the South Coast. He's normally called for raccoons, coyotes and beavers.

Despite the anxiety the wolf-dog inspired, local veterinarian Alastair Wescott said he believed it may have been a house pet that had been abandoned.

"They are a mixed-up species," Wescott told CTV News over the weekend. "They are part domestic with the instincts of a wolf. They don't react normally and so people can't manage them, and so dumping them is a common thing to do."

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Bhinder Sajan